I dwell so often in this space on the things that doctors and patients get wrong that I feel obligated to tell a good story, about a 43-year-old lady from Panama that I saw this week. She’s a regular patient of mine [whose identifying details, obviously, are changed]. We had a long chat about her lung disease, heart failure, depression, and hip arthritis. She got my attention right when she sat down. “I’m going to talk your ear off today,” she said, looking guilty.“That’s the way I like it,” I responded cheerily - or, at least, I hope I was cheery.

Then she proceeded to tell me a lot about her symptoms, what she did about them, and whether she had chosen, or not, to take the medication I had prescribed. I was in patient-centered heaven. I didn’t have to prompt her at all, just sit back, type, and listen.

As she was about to leave my office, she made another remark. "I had to train myself to talk to you. I had to get used to you but now I know what to say."

Train herself: she paid attention to what she had to say, and practiced so as to get it into the form I would pay attention to.

Had to get used to me: I am not the world’s perfect listener. I have my own quirks and foibles. My patients will have to get used to those, just like I have to get used to theirs.

Knows what to say: She now has some level of confidence that she is communicating well.

Now that’s a good visit! Let’s hope she actually feels better, the next time I see her, after pursuing the treatment we agreed on.